Snail’s Pace is a socially and environmentally responsible stationery brand that features a collection of beautiful nature designs all printed with soy-based inks on paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and packaged in plant-based, compostable bags.

The unique part of Snail’s Pace is, the product line comes from the monks of Abbey Press at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Southern Indiana. These monks have a long-standing Benedictine tradition to be kind to their environment and strive to make the most ecologically sound choices in materials they use.

Every step of the Snail’s Pace production process is designed to be as eco-responsible as possible. By buying your holiday, birthday or next special occasion card & gift wrap from Snail’s Pace you will not only be supporting the monks, but also the Earth.

Posted in Eco-Products | 6 Comments »

Check out this super sweet little girls blouse that Teri Dimalanta from Giddy Giddy created using a thrift store find drab purple dress and a few odds & ends she had laying around her house.

Teri first began by removing the lace on the neckline and chopping off the long sleeves, plus 4 inches of skirt. Next, she finished off the sleeves and the skirt hem. Then, she added detail to the front by hand sewing a navy floral fabric, 3 mismatched buttons and lavender lace trim. To complete the look, she added a cute dark purple apron.

A special thanks to Teri for sharing her upcycling skills with us! Teri, your little lady is the cutest in this recycled girls dress turned blouse.

Posted in Eco-Products, Green Crafts, Recycling | 1 Comment »

“Peak” energy hours are the time of day during which the most electricity is used typically the daytime. The high usage of energy can strain the electrical grid, can cause brown / black outs and even the use of older (dirtier) backup plants. It is best to have the energy usage spread out more evenly throughout the day to prevent these things from happening. As an incentive, most utility companies offer a two-tiered rate plans, charging less for energy used during off-peak hours.

If you run your dishwasher, washing machine and other energy intensive appliances during off-peak electric times, you’ll save on energy and in turn money. Off-peak hours are different for every area, but are usually after 9pm and before 7am during the week.

Posted in Energy, Tips | 4 Comments »

nicobella are these dreamy little vegan organic dark chocolate truffles designed for the health conscious individual with a big sweet tooth.

nicobella provides all of the flavor without the guilt, taking the traditional decadent truffle concept to a new level. nicobella replaces the cream and sugar that is typically in the ganache center of a truffle, with vegan natural ingredients and infusing each truffle with super rich antioxidant foods.

nicobella’s truffle variety box is an awesome sampler of all their vegan organic dark chocolate flavors…Walnut Flaxseed Crunch, Sunflower Banana Butter, Pumpkin Chai, Blueberry Almond, Ginger Green Tea and Pure Cocoa Bliss.

Buy yours today! It’s the best little chocolate treat after dinner.

Posted in Eco-Products, Healthy Eating | 1 Comment »

Here’s a quick DIY project – upcycle old mason jars into fun funky bathroom or kitchen liquid soap dispensers.

Supplies Needed:

• Old mason jar with lid
• Drill
• Ruler
• Marker
• Soap dispenser pump
• Liquid soap

Step 1:
Measure and mark the center of the jar’s lid.

Step 2:
Drill a hole approximately half an inch wide, at the marked spot, and to fit the width of the pump.

Step 3:
Fill the jar with liquid soap, insert the pump (trim, if needed), and start washing.

Posted in Eco-Products, Green Crafts, Recycling | 3 Comments »

Instead of tossing out those old used coffee grounds put them to good use to make yourself beautiful. Coffee grounds can actually help improve the quality of your skin by:

• Exfoliating
• Preventing and diminishing fine lines and wrinkles
• Balancing pH
• Controlling blemishes
• Pulling toxins from the skin
• Moisturizing

Here are a few different beauty treatments that you can do at home with your old used coffee grounds to help enhance your skin & hair.

• Face Mask – Mix a quarter-cup of used coffee grounds with an egg white for an at home skin tightening mask.
• Exfoliant – Massage your face with coffee grounds for an exfoliating scrub that will leave you with a radiant glow.
• Cellulite Treatment – To combat cellulite, mix a tablespoon of olive oil with a quarter-cup of moist, warm coffee grounds and apply to the troublesome areas of your body. Wrap the areas tightly with plastic wrap, leave on for a few minutes, and then remove and shower as normal. It’s recommended that this be done a couple times a week for best results.
• Hair Color Enhancer - Coffee grounds can add shine to brunette and black hair, improve scalp health, and prevent dandruff. In the shower, rub some used coffee grounds throughout your hair in between shampooing and conditioning. Make sure to distribute the grounds thoroughly and then rinse. Unless you want darker hair, you’ll want to avoid this one, blondes!

Posted in Tips | 2 Comments »

EARTHTECH is an environmentally responsible lifestyle apparel brand located in New Hampshire, USA. They create quality apparel from recycled plastic bottles.

EARTHTEC takes PET & HDPE plastics (like water bottles, food containers such as ketchup and non-food containers for items like cleaning products) and puts them through a process which cleans, shreds, and melts the bottles. They then create recycled fiber from the plastic that rivals virgin polyester. From this recycled fiber, EARTHTEC has created a whole apparel collection. Each garment prevents approximately 12 plastic bottles from ending up in a landfill.

EARTHTEC fleece clothes are super soft, very cozy and just a great layer to wear on those colder days. Buy yours today!

Posted in Eco-Products, Recycling | 6 Comments »

Stop eating that unhealthy refined white sugar and start to replace it with all natural substitutes.

Why?
White refined sugar starts out as sugar cane before it goes though it’s refining process. This process removes all measurable traces of vitamins and minerals from the sugar cane, leaving us with a nutritionally vacant product whose only purpose is to be sweet.

Get the sweet plus some nutritional value by using natural sugar replacers such as Sucanat, maple syrup, stevia, honey and agave nectar whenever possible.

Posted in Healthy Eating | 2 Comments »

I love this crocheted rug created from upcycled plastic bags by RecycleCindy over at My Recycled Bags. It totally reminds me of the ones my grandma used to make out of scrap fabric and would have all over her house.

Cindy used recycled bags from bread, hotdog & hamburger buns, paper towel & TP packaging, etc. to create this rug. She first makes her plastic yarn (or “plarn”), then uses an N (9) crochet hook and does a single crochet throughout.

I think these rugs are just a super fun throwback and a great way to recycle your plastic trash.

A special thanks to RecycleCindy for sharing her DIY crafts with us.

Posted in Green Crafts, Recycling | 3 Comments »

It’s the end of August and time for the kids to go back to school.

Back to school is the perfect time to start adopting some greener habits you & your whole family can practice all year long. Below are the top ten tips to going back to school the green way.

Top Ten Eco-Friendly Back to School Tips:

1. Ride your bike or walk to school whenever possible.
2. Use last year’s backpack.
3. Use a reusable lunch box & water bottle, instead of disposable.
4. Buy local & organic foods & snacks to pack in lunches
5. Buy recycled paper, notebooks & other supplies.
6. Use refillable pens & pencils.
7. Buy a canvas & cardboard binders, instead of plastic.
8. Buy used books.
9. Buy new school clothes from a second hand shop.
10. And don’t forget to always recycle.

Posted in Family, Tips | 1 Comment »